Update October 12, 2016: Each of Battlefield 1’s five war stories has received its own mini-trailer via a post on the Battlefield site.
Want to know what’s waiting for you in Battlefield 1’s campaign? DICE have you covered. They’ve released thirty second trailers for each of their five war stories that form the single-player portion of the World War 1 misery-sim / shooter. They’re all below, along with brief summaries of what you’ll get up to in each.
For the Battlefield 1 release date and much more, check our dedicated article.
Friends in High Places – British Air Force
You, a biplane and a sky full of German pilots with better training, tech and a higher life expectancy. Also: zeppelins. Official description:
“The allies are losing the war in the air. Britain struggles to compete with the German aces and the average lifetime of a combat pilot is 17 days. You must face these bleak odds and take to the skies for a noble fight over the western front. Intense dogfights, unexpected encounters, and a story of friendship await you.”
Nothing is Written – Arab Rebels
Battlefield 1’s female protagonist goes up against the Ottoman Empire and their artillery-equipped train. Also: Lawrence of Arabia. Official description:
“In the Middle East deserts, Arab tribes rebel against the oppression of the Ottoman Empire. The Empire’s devastating artillery engage rebel forces wielding rifles from horseback. As a Bedouin warrior working alongside the legendary Lawrence of Arabia, you must find a way to take on the technologically superior enemy and destroy a deadly railgun.”
Through Mud and Blood – British Tank Crew
Set towards the end of the war in the age’s most faulty vehicle, you play a British tank’s new driver. Also: France. Official description:
“In the autumn of 1918, British forces prepare for a mass assault on the town of Cambrai, France. With tank support, Allied Command believes a breakthrough is a certainty. But the Mark V tank has one major flaw: it is not reliable. Join a dysfunctional tank crew who battle their way behind enemy lines as they learn to work together.”
Avanti Savoia – Italian Mountaineers
Armour-clad mountaineers lug machine guns around while being effectively invulnerable – perhaps where Battlefield 1 crosses most over towards fantasy. Also: brotherly love. Official description:
“Italy and the Austro-Hungarian Empire are deadlocked among the Alps. Braced by snow-capped mountains, neither side can find a way to dislodge their enemy. Meanwhile, the Italian mountaineer regiment Arditi prepares an unorthodox assault. Don your Arditi armor and head up a mountainside as Italian and Austrian forces clash over a strategic fort.”
The Runner – ANZAC Gallipoli Landings
In arguably one of the most horrific battles across history, 500,000 men land at Gallipoli in the hope of taking the Ottomans by surprise. It doesn’t work. Also: horses. Official description:
“The British Empire intends to open a new front to the war with an unprecedented naval invasion of the Ottoman homeland. The ships gathered for the Gallipoli Landings — the D-Day of World War 1 — carry over half a million men. As an Anzac runner you’ll witness the heat of epic bombardments and a beach landing, as well as covert deliveries of urgent life-or-death messages across the frontline.”
More to be revealed over the next few weeks as we head up to release on October 21.
Original story October 3, 2016:Battlefield 1 is, without a doubt, doing things a tad differently. Its otherworldy take on an unexplored setting and jump to the past rather than pushing further into the future aside, it’s even experimenting more with what can be done in a single-player campaign structurally. Rather than a globe-hopping single character or a straight-line story using several perspectives, it tells five separate stories across the various theatres of war.
You can play these in any order, replaying at higher difficulties or moving between missions as you like. There’s no gating beyond each telling its own story and player choice is meant to be a huge part of the game, with this being the starting point.
This, and much more, was revealed on the TwitchCon livestream, where Battlefield 1 campaign designer Eric Holmes brought info and footage for the people. That’s around 03:13:00 into the below archive.
As well as twelve minutes of gameplay footage and the introductory cinematic – featuring some remarkable good acting and explaining that weird shot of the dude with the driving gloves from the trailer last week – he revealed some other bits and pieces:
- The war stories include an aviation-focused section, a tank-focused one and one about two Italians in the mountains.
- This will give a distinct feel between each, with infantry or a type of vehicle or one of the multiplayer archetypes taking center stage and making that story special.
- The plots of each are not 100% true, but inspired by historical events. The intention, according to Holmes, is to make characters people can identify and connect with, then (probably) kill them off.
Worth watching the full half-hour presentation if you’ve got the time. Game’s out come October 21, in a triple-glut of great-looking FPS games this next month or so. Which are you picking up?